When Someone Dies
Everything You Need to Know
When someone dies, you will need to register the death. After the death has been registered, you will be given/sent all the necessary paperwork required to arrange the funeral. If you are unsure about the procedure of registering a death in the UK, please call us and we can talk you through all the steps.
In the event someone is to die at home, a nursing home or a hospice, the first contact should be with the deceased’s doctor who, if fully satisfied with the cause of death, will issue the Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death.
There can be cases where you may be asked to collect the certificate from the surgery.
In the case of a nursing home or hospice death, their staff should liaise with the doctor. If the funeral service is followed by a cremation, please advise the nursing home or general practitioner’s surgery staff so they can make arrangements for the Medical Certificates for Cremation Forms to be completed.
If a death occurs in a hospital, the doctor attending the patient will issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. The hospital (bereavement services) will then inform you of how, where and when the certificate will be made available for collection.
COVID-19 Regulation Changes
With recent events there have been changes to the how the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death is obtained. The Bereavement Services are currently sending this through electronically and will require the e-mail address when asked.
There are occasions where the doctor is unable to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and the Coroner will be informed. The Coroner will then investigate the death and then decide on whether a post-mortem will be required (inquest) or allow the attending doctor to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. In the event that an inquest is required the Coroner will have full control on issuing appropriate certificates for a burial or cremation enabling the funeral to proceed.
When someone dies overseas, the stress of bereavement can be made worse by having to deal with an unfamiliar system far from home, it can be a confusing and complicated situation.
However, one of our expert funeral arrangers can help explain everything you need to know about a body repatriation, and how everything works. This can be both to and from the UK. To find out more